Ask HN: Opinion on my trading bot side project plan?

Hi,

I would like to start a side project from scratch: I want to make a cryptocurrency trading bot. This is mainly for fun and learning (junior dev here).

I'm thinking about trading on DyDx since they provide the possibility to run a node of their network to have orders broadcasted quickly.

For the moment I have started to brush up my math skills so I can start reading some literature about algo trading. Reading math is great but I feel this is not the main point. I could first make a MVP that paper trades on the exchange and when this is ready start exploring some fancy trading strategies. I feel it's going to be a long way since, for instance, I have never managed a server myself.

So, my question is what should I do first? I am thinking about leaving the theory aside for the moment and start with the following plan:

  1. Renting some cheap server to get the basics of server admin, security etc.

  2. At the same time read the DyDx doc to better understand their software.

  3. Run their software on a server (it actually requires quite a lot of resources).

  4. Create an MVP, the bot should be able to access all the information the node can provide, and place some dummy orders.
  5. Create some CI/CD for the bot.

  6. Read a lot of math and algo trading papers so I can improve the bot.

Would love to read any opinion on that.

Thanks!